Category Archives: Rates

Anyone else excited about tax time like we are? If you’re like millions of other Americans, the answer is “NO”. But your outlook doesn’t need to be so glum. If you are getting a tax refund, this time of year can seem almost as rewarding as getting a bonus.

Have you thought of maybe taking advantage of the extra money and using that refund as a down payment for a new home with unique roofs which you can choose by visiting their home-Palm Beach Roofing Expert or to refill your existing home loan to a lower interest rate? Interest rates rose to a 4-year high this month and are expected to continue to clime for the rest of 2018. Higher rates equal higher monthly payments, making that new home or refinance plan that much more expensive. The sooner you get approved the better your chances are at locking in at a great interest rate.

Consumers Financial Mortgage’s own Matt Stout had this to say
“Using your tax refund as a portion of your down payment can be a great idea. While we have purchase options with as little as $500 down, putting more down payment can greatly improve your monthly payment.”

If you or someone you know is considering a home purchase, let them know to give Matt a call. There are many new programs that make the process more attainable. Approval is fast and always free. Call for more information on custom options at 801.599.5363 today or get a Quick Quote today!

Like it or not, it is likely that any changes to American’s income tax system will result in higher mortgage rates, at least for now. Stocks are always looking for a good reason to rally and historically have pushed up whenever there is wind that taxes could go down. Even though the proposed tax plan may not actually accomplish lower taxes, the talk does create a buzz that is likely to spell a rally for stocks. Mortgage rates have been steadily on the way up since November 1st, with the 30-year fixed hovering at just under 4% APR for most programs. As we enter the holiday season it is likely they will jump over 4%, especially if retail sales are higher than expected.

With Wall Street looking for a reason to rally, US Stocks will likely surge into the new year. Any perceived Improvement in the economy is almost always bad for mortgage rates. Homeowners looking to move or lock in a good interest rate by refinancing may be soon be faced with a mortgage interest rate over 4.5%.

If you have been waiting to refinance or still have mortgage insurance you should take a look while mortgage rates are still low. Call me for custom options at 801.599.5363 today or get a Quick Quote today!

At the beginning of the year everyone thought rates were going to go up. That just hasn’t happened. Since November of 2016 interest rates haven’t moved up or down more than .3%. With the best interest rates between 3.1% and 4.0% APR, mortgages are still very affordable for most people. While some people would like to speculate rates rising back to the double digits of the 1980’s, the current trend shows otherwise.

Since 2008 the federal government has been subsidizing mortgage rates, this trend is not likely to change as big banks have no interest in earning single digit rates on their investments. Part of the reason financial analysts were so sure rates would rise this year was that 2017 marked the beginning of bigger plan to take Fannie and Freddie out of conservatorship. Turning these entities back into public companies would require that rates rise to attract private investment.

To date, no one has come up with a plan on how this will happen without destroying the housing market. I talked a lot about this in other blogs as it relates to a similar problem that Japan faced in 1991. Simply put rates may never go up, now that we’ve duped the American taxpayers into being the bank.

If you have been waiting to refinance or still have mortgage insurance you should take a look while mortgage rates are still low. Call me for custom options at 801.599.5363 today or get a Quick Quote today!

Interest rates surged to 2-year highs last week, apparently in response to news that OPEC countries struck a deal to limit oil production. True, if OPEC is willing to do what it takes to push fuel prices higher, it only adds to the inflationary fears already pushing rates higher. But even as OPEC dominated this week's headlines, there are more important things keeping housing and mortgage markets up at night. This will make people need more money, a good way to get the money you need is to start a business with SEO techniques from https://www.outreachkings.com/ to increase traffic on the website.

Financial markets are understandably very interested in the stuff that fuels the movement of goods around the world. The massive drop in oil prices at the end of 2014 saw the healthy interest grow into an obsession, with far too many market movements being forced to fit the oil price narrative. It's a seductive thesis, especially for interest rates, given oil's inflation implications.
Oil prices do indeed have strong correlations with interest rate movements. Last week was a good example of that, as we'll see in the following chart.
But the chart also shows that this week's correlation is a small drop in a much bigger bucket.

At the end of the day we can still get rates in the low 4’s and even in the 3’s on the 15-year, but as gas prices rise so will rates. Call me for custom options at 801.599.5363 today or get a Quick Quote today!

Rates have been rising for the last 6 months until now and here is why: when Trump won the election, investors made assumptions about the future of the stock market and monetary policy. This caused stocks to rise rapidly which has a negative effect on mortgage rates. The result was that mortgage rates rose to over 4% on most programs.

Just this week, geopolitical concerns (which tend to help rates and hurt stocks) have been added to the mix with several potentially alarming headlines. In a very brief time, the US has bombed Syria, been threatened with nuclear weapons by North Korea, dropped the biggest available non-nuke in Afghanistan (some speculate as a show of force), sent an "armada" of warships to East China Sea (an overt show of force), and expressed that relations with Russia are at an all-time low.
What happened next was a total surprise and President Trump made a public comment that the US Dollar is “too strong.” This sent mortgage rates to a new low for 2017 as the market was already in rally mode. This is due to the tendency for rates to go down if the value of our currency goes down.

All this means that if you have been waiting for that 3-point-something interest rate, your wait is over and you can now get back in on yesterday’s gravy train. Call me for custom options at 801.599.5363 today or get a Quick Quote today!

Rates have risen significantly since March 7th, with many programs up over 3% since the first of the month. First off, the US Jobs market continues to show strength which gave the FED good reason to raise rates again next month. As if that didn’t hurt mortgage rates enough, what’s really got the market worried is what can happen on March 13th as we approach the US Debt Ceiling limit. That’s because since 2008 our banks and investment firms have had the US government borrowing money to lend on mortgages. With President Trump currently reevaluation of the financial markets, will he continue to let the US Government go into debt? If so then we are back to normal. But if not the implications are, for lack of a better quote, “HUGE!”

In other words, if the US Tax Payer isn’t going to borrow money to lend on mortgages, then the Banks will have to buy them. With rates in the 3%'s that doesn’t get anyone on Wall Street excited. Rates could rise rapidly this week if some solution isn’t met quickly. For now, rates are over 4.25%APR with most programs except the 15 Year which is still hovering around 3.6%APR.

If you have been waiting to refinance or still have mortgage insurance you should take a look while mortgage rates are still low. Call me for custom options at 801.599.5363 today or get a Quick Quote today!

Mortgage rates have risen sharply since early November for a couple of reasons. First, you should understand that the better the economy is, the more likely it is that interest rates will rise. Trump’s win in the election sent the stock market to new highs as investors saw the possibility that promised tax cuts will improve long term profits.

Secondly, the FED has been eluding to higher rates since last spring, and in December this became a reality as they raised short term interest rates for the first time in a year. By the FED’s next meeting last week their policy statement made it clear that job growth and inflation are still a concern, leading investors to believe that there is still room for more rate hikes this year. That said, there isn’t any indication that will happen right away. This helped level off interest rates, bringing some stability to the market.

Housing data appears to show that Pending Home Sales improved by 1.6 percent in December. This puts our current housing numbers at historically healthy levels.

Everything said, this means you can still get an APR under 4% on 15 year loans and in the low 4’s with the 30 year programs.

If you have been waiting to refinance or still have mortgage insurance you should take a look while mortgage rates are still low. Call me for custom options at 801.599.5363 today or get a Quick Quote today!

As we are now in a world were interest rates are going up there is a lot of talk in the financial markets speculating about how much they will rise and what are the factors that are driving them behind the scenes. With so many political and financial factors in such a short amount of time it can be easy to look for short term colorations, in other words a scapegoat to ease our collective minds and quantify what is likely to happen but you may be surprised to find that the truth is a little harder to put our collective finger on.

So now that the election results have worked their way through the system a little more and the US markets have started to stabilize it can be easy to think that’s where the story ends but alas no. So, with the specter of rates still going up, the markets started looking for another reason and landed on OPEC recently cutting production and the historic correlation between oil prices and mortgage rates, but is this the real reason?

Financial markets are understandably very concerned with anything that can raise the cost of moving goods around the world. And with the massive drop in oil prices in 2014 a lot of things that may have never been related to Oil prices have now been viewed through that lens with mortgage rates being no exception. It’s always a compelling idea to be able to think we’ve found a key to understanding the markets by watching something as omni-important as Oil and its pressures on markets and inflation around the globe but again being compelling doesn’t make it true even if it calms fears in some quarters.

So, what is it then if not oil or the recent election? Is there truly no way to know what the lay of the land for lending may be going forward? The truth is that it is complicated by so many more factors and like anything that has a lot of ingredients it’s hard to know exactly what’s going to come out of the oven and what the effect will be going forward. That said there are some things we know for sure, let’s take a look.

So, first and foremost the ECB (European Central Bank) said it was going to review how they are dealing with “asset purchases” and the likely implication here is that they are going to taper their purchases of financial assets and of course this is almost certainly going to raise rates across the globe. This is something that most serious market watchers have expected and some may argue is overdue but again there is no doubt the effect is likely to raise rates. Number two despite the recent stabilization there is still a large amount of uncertainty in the markets of what the implications of the new administration will be and uncertainty almost always leads to higher interest rates. And lastly rates have been held artificially low for so long that it may well not be feasible to keep them at these deflated levels forever without doing damage to the lending sector around the world and having that effect reflect itself in depressing markets around the world. There is and has been a growing chorus of people around the world saying it’s now time to take off the training wheels and let rates find a less managed balance.

With all of that factored in the point here is that we are likely to continue to see rates rise and we are again likely to be looking at a world of rates that are closer to what we saw in the surplus days of the 1990’s. We who have been watching a long time don’t expect crippling rates in the near future but if you want to tell your kids down the road how you got your loan when rates where in the 3% range than this may well be your last chance.

If you have been waiting to refinance or still have mortgage insurance you should take a look while mortgage rates are still under 4% APR. Call me for custom options at 801.599.5363 today or get a Quick Quote today!

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What People Are Saying

Matt was awesome! We had a circumstance needing some extra attention and, Matt was completely available and approachable during the entire process. He provided great direction and instruction for the items we needed to gather as well. One of the most painless mortgage refi's we ever done.

Mark Hiskey

January 2, 2016

I have used Matt Stout and his team for a home purchase and 2 two refinances in the past 15 years. I can truly say he is the only person that I will send my friends and family to in order to get a mortgage. Matt takes the time to really listen and make sure that not only are you getting the right mortgage for today, but one that will serve you and your family for the future. That is very rare these days!

Brandon Wood

July 25, 2016

Matt Stout and his team were exceptional. They worked hard to make our home purchase happen, only 30 days from the time I contacted him until we closed. They never once called me with a problem, only solutions. I would recommend this team to anyone looking to buy a home.

Troy Booth

October 3, 2015

Thank you for your work on the Kim purchase. You and your team were really professional and Delightful to work with. Let's do more business together. I like your style and your service. Warm regards.

Michelle Mitten, Realtor

May 13, 2013

We just closed on our first home together! So excited! Thanks for everything Matt Stout and Benny Keele!

Ali Griffiths

November 24, 2014

Matt and his team helped me pursue and purchase my first house. The whole experience was professional and streamlined. I would absolutely recommend Matt for first time home buyers and seasoned buyers.

Alex George

May 2, 2016

Matt and his team did an amazing job on my refinance in Florida. Thanks!!!!

Zyad Jabal

November 8, 2014

Matt is extremely professional and knowledgeable on the mortgage industry. He has always provided me with excellent services and with the best rates and fees. I have recommended him to anyone I know and all of my referrals have been happy and very satisfied. If I could, I would give 10 stars to Matt and his team!

Cesar

May 23, 2016

Matt and his team at Consumer Financial are absolutely amazing. I have worked with many lenders over my career and can say with confidence that the Consumer Financial team has one of the most communicative and responsive lending teams. Knowledge and timely responses are a must in the world of lending and the Consumer Financial team nails that down perfectly.

Justin Rague

May 5, 2016

Thanks so much to Natalie Petersen Matt Stout andNiesha Unger for all their hard work getting Keya and Iour first house.

James Strickland

September 19, 2014

As first time home buyers he made the process easy to understand and painless to get through.

Manny Jones

January 7, 2014

I was really impressed with the options I was given. Other lenders gave me a quote, but Matt took the time to customize payments based on my budget. The closing went fast and I was able to get a better rate too. Thanks Matt Stout!

Jose Gaspar

January 6, 2014

Best service and customer highly recommend! Matt and his team are great!!

Jen Starlee

October 1, 2013

Matt can and will make it happen for you.

Jeff Toney

November 2, 2013

I wanted to thank all of you for your hard work and time to make this happen. Samantha and I appreciate everything you did.

Sean and Samantha Heller

September 26, 2013

Matt is a great Lender--I feel completely comfortable sending my clients to him. I love the way he tries to help the customer both in the short term and long term as well. He is extremely knowledgeable, has many years of experience, and is great to work with.

Ryan Fawson

June 14, 2016

Matt and Team, I owe you and your team a huge thank you for your efforts in getting me through the process of refinancing my house. Within 2 weeks of completing the process the mortgage interest rates had increased an entire percentage point, form 3.625%, to 4.625%. The timing of your team helping me complete this process could not have been better. Again many thanks to the entire team. Thank You.

Matthew Schmitz

June 12, 2013

If you don't already have a loan squared away talk to Matt Stout he is the loan guru!

Mary Jo Piele

March 22, 2014

Niesha was absolutely amazing in helping me through the process of getting into a new home. It had been a tough year for me, with many changes, and she made me feel confident throughout the entire process. She answered any question I had quickly and professionally, while taking the time to make sure I felt I had someone in my corner. I would highly recommend her to anyone looking to purchase or refinance. This is a person who really cares about her clients, and goes the extra mile. Thank you, Niesha! You rock!

Melanie Willey

April 15, 2016

We were tough on you but we definitely appreciate your hard work and patience.

Annette Neeley

March 25, 2013

Thank you for helping me with my financial goals!!

Emily Cooper

March 12, 2013

Matt and his team at Consumer Financial have ALWAYS given us the highest quality of care when we have purchased our last 2 homes. Matt's knowledge of the industry is invaluable. I wouldn't go anywhere else and I refer them out any chance I get. If you want the best care, definitely choose them to handle your home buying needs.

Vanessa Winters

September 15, 2015

As of 11AM today we became very proud first time homeowners! Huge thanks to Matt Stout Mortgage Geek! We are so happy!

Jennifer Burdett

October 15, 2015

I was looking to get financed for a new home and went to several different mortgage brokers. I found Matt Stout, CEO of Consumers Financial, was the most knowledgeable and helpful. He presented several different options given my financial situation and got me into a great house. He even saved me $2000 by noticing my old mortgage lender had charged me an unnecessary prepayment penalty and personally called them. I am posting this because I was very impressed and satisfied with his work. He comes highly recommended and I would definitely call him to see your different options.

John Knox

April 22, 2008

Matt - We so appreciate your help with our mortgage. We enjoyed spending time with you and hope to see more of you. The best to you and your family.

Paul and Margaret Smith

May 10, 2010

Dear Matt, I wanted to take a moment to tell you how much you have helped me over the years. You have helped me on several occasions with my finances so much that I have found you to be one of the first people I call before I make any major financial decisions. I remember the first time you helped me get my bills under control. You then were able to lower my interest rate without any hassle utilizing the government's easy rate reduction program. I knew you would give me honest advise about reverse mortgages. The reverse mortgage you helped obtain has helped me so I have no problem affording my medications, which is a significant cost to cover my current medical conditions. Thank you for all your help over the years. Your friend

Kathy Major

March 12, 2000

Thank you for saving us even more money.

Laura Perkins & E. Nielsen

February 25, 2005

I have been a REALTOR for more than 20 years and have seen my share of good and bad lenders. I believe my clients should have choices, not ultimatums. For this reason I always tell my potential buyers to call at least three lenders. Matt Stout is the top of the list and, consistently gets the compliments at closings. He always delivers as promised, without surprises.

Elaine Babic

January 18, 2008

Need a home loan or refinance, call Niesha at Consumers Financial! She really looks out for your best interest. (Pun intended) Got us a great rate, and lower payments. Super nice to work with, and she knows her stuff!

Todd Mower

June 11, 2015

Dear Matt, Just a thank you for everything you did to help us get into our house. It was a pleasure to work with you, and we're absolutely thrilled with the house. We wouldn't be here without your help.

Amy Parkin

December 12, 2012

I lowered my rate with minimal fees and saved years of payments and thousands of dollars in interest.

Andrew McCrea

October 12, 2012

It was great to finally do a deal with you after 11 years of knowing each other. GREAT JOB by the way. I feel great using your services in the future.

K. Memzer

March 11, 2010

MORE LOVE!

Matt and his team are great to work with. Very organized, quick to answer any questions and knowledgeable about the options. I've done two refinances with them and would highly recommend them.

Victoria Bernier10/12/2018

What a great team to work with!
They helped my wife and I getting us a loan to purchase our new home.
Matt and his team were very responsive and the whole process went quicker and smoother than expected.
We really liked to be able to do everything online or over the phone which saved so much time and made the whole process easy.

Victor Coulon11/11/2018

Matt and his team we're super helpful through the whole home buying process. There was some hurdles along the way as expected but Matt helped us along the way and made it super simple. 10/10 would recommend.

Ian Budzenski9/18/2018

Matt and team at Consumers are simply the best. They are friendly, accurate, and FAST! I will refer all of my customers but more importantly, my friends and family to Consumer's. They have my business for life.
I am a real estate broker and this company is a breath of fresh air. They educate my clients and look out for my client's best interest. I don't have to babysit the mortgage application process because Consumer's is there taking care in my stead. Matt keeps track of who my clients are and keeps me informed when they need further realtor services from my company. Amazing.

Laura Partlow6/27/2018

Matt and his crew are the best. My wife and I have used them three or four times now, and they are so throough and so thoughtful through the whole process. This stuff can be dauting at times, and really confusing, and Matt is fantastic at walking people through the options and the process. Thanks, Matt!